Weekend Update

While we thought of Ashley and Bryce in London, Saturday was spent working out in the yard mowing, trimming, planting under a beautiful sunny day. We probably spent three or four hours welcoming Spring outside, before I was able to catch a short nap before getting ready for dinner.

The Hales had invited us down to Laguna for dinner in Romeo's off of Main Beach. We met up at 6 and had great pasta, or salmon, or veal and a good bottle of Chianti. Then it was off to the High School for a performance of the LA Scots, a pipe and drum corp who played numerous reels, etc. Carolyn said it reminded her of the Highland Games even though the pipers were not nearly as numerous (obviously). We had a good time and good conversation and the music kept both John and me awake.

Sunday, after an hour less sleep because of Daylight Savings, we went to church at Saddleback again, primarily to pick up tickets for their 25th anniversary celebration which will be held in Anaheim Stadium on the 17th which Katie wants to attend. This time we actually ran into a few people we knew including Jill Schreiber and the Youngs from our Bible study.

Then it was home for a quick read of the Sunday papers and lunch before we headed to Newport to meet the Hughes for an afternoon sail. We decided to ignore any chores this time and took the opportunity to have Gloria and Carolyn 'man' the tiller for a while to get a feel of the boat's handling while I got more familiar with the mainsail and jib. It was a great day just enjoying the sun, wind and salt air without too many boats in the harbor.

Leaving around 5, both we and the Hughes headed down PCH, stopping for a brief dinner at Del Taco in Dana Point, before we drove to PCC for an open meeting on the history of the dispute that led to Pastor Mike's resignation and the plans for the future. The parking lot was full and the street was fully parked for two hundred yards from the church. We ended up in an upstairs annex listening to the discussion on a video feed. It was the most painful meeting I've ever had the displeasure to endure even after an admonition to behave in a Biblical fashion! The level of animosity was painfully obvious from many who spoke from the crowd, and the two senior associate pastors had a real difficulty in either controlling it or explaining well the circumstances of Mike's departure. It felt as if they we're sugar-coating much of their descriptions, and it sounded like they had not appropriately responded to legitimate requests for information/meetings as mandated by the church's constitution. After an hour and half, we couldn't take it any more, so we left for home to unwind before the beginning of this work week. It was not a fun way to end an otherwise really good weekend.